Question 1

Commentators on the presidential election between Bush and Gore in 2000 believe that the presence of Nader,a third party candidate:

Accepted Answer

A)   drew votes away from Gore and caused him to lose the election.
B)   pushed more people to vote for Bush than otherwise would have, causing him to win the election.
C)   drew votes away from Bush and caused him to lose the election.
D)   drew votes away from Bush and caused him to win the election.E) None of the above
F) A) and D)

Question 2

The consequence for society of the free-rider problem is:

Accepted Answer

A)   valuable goods and services are oversupplied.
B)   valuable goods and services are undersupplied.
C)   goods and services not valued by the society will be oversupplied.
D)   valuable goods and services are underdemanded.E) C) and D)
F) A) and C)

Question 3

Which of the following is not a criterion for an ideal voting system,according to economist Kenneth Arrow?

Accepted Answer

A)   Unanimity
B)   No dictator
C)   Transitivity
D)   FairnessE) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

Question 4

Which economist defined the characteristics of an ideal voting system in his book Social Choice and Individual Values?

Accepted Answer

A)   Gary Becker
B)   Kenneth Arrow
C)   Dean Karlan
D)   Jonathan MorduchE) A) and B)
F) B) and C)

Question 5

Despite the fact that most votes have virtually no impact on the outcome of a vote,and knowing people incur opportunity costs to vote,we recognize that people vote for all of the following reasons except they:

Accepted Answer

A)   feel pressure to fulfill their civic duty.
B)   altruistically decide to contribute to the democratic process by voting.
C)   get utility from participating in a civic event.
D)   are obligated legally to do so.E) B) and C)
F) All of the above

Question 6

If a pair-wise majority vote was held and the voters' preferences are shown in the table,assuming transportation and the zoo was the first pair to be voted on,which option would win overall?

Accepted Answer

A)   Public transportation
B)   Public parks
C)   Public zoo
D)   Public parks and zoo.E) A) and D)
F) B) and C)

Question 7

Many countries use a proportional-representation system,which means that:

Accepted Answer

A)   if a party gains a certain percentage of the popular vote, then they are awarded the same percentage of representative seats in the government.
B)   smaller parties can carve out niches and still have political influence.
C)   everyone's preference gets represented proportionately with everyone else's.
D)   All of these are true.E) C) and D)
F) B) and D)

Question 8

Research has shown that voters are more likely to turn out in elections with ________ electorates and when the election is likely to be ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)   small; very competitive
B)   large; very competitive
C)   small; not very competitive
D)   large; not very competitiveE) B) and D)
F) A) and B)

Question 9

Pair-wise majority voting entails:

Accepted Answer

A)   voting on options that is done in pairs, and the majority vote wins.
B)   one vote with many options, and the option with the most votes wins.
C)   voters ranking all available options and the option most approved of wins.
D)   None of these describes pair-wise majority voting.E) B) and C)
F) A) and B)

Question 10

At its extreme,the use of the powers of government by public officials to achieve personal gains is:

Accepted Answer

A)   collective action.
B)   corruption.
C)   bribery.
D)   a moral hazard.E) None of the above
F) A) and D)

Question 11

Arrow's impossibility theorem tells us:

Accepted Answer

A)   most voting systems meet the criteria for an ideal system, yet politicians cannot seem to change the way in which elections are held.
B)   no voting system can aggregate the preferences of voters of three or more options while meeting all of the criteria for an ideal system.
C)   political pressures will always corrupt a voting system, making none ideal.
D)   no voting system can ever attain all four criteria for an ideal voting system.E) All of the above
F) B) and D)

Question 12

The median-voter theorem can help explain one reason why politicians tend to change their position on a given issue over the course of an election from:

Accepted Answer

A)   extreme to moderate.
B)   moderate to extreme.
C)   extreme to more extreme.
D)   one extreme to the other.E) A) and B)
F) A) and C)

Question 13

Political advocacy:

Accepted Answer

A)   and political engagement can suffer from the free-rider problem.
B)   is not affected by the free-rider problem, but political engagement is.
C)   can suffer from the free-rider problem, but political engagement does not.
D)   and political engagement are not affected by the free-rider problem.E) B) and C)
F) A) and D)

Question 14

Arguably the simplest voting system is:

Accepted Answer

A)   instant runoff voting.
B)   pair-wise majority voting.
C)   first-past-the-post voting.
D)   approval voting.E) A) and B)
F) C) and D)

Question 15

When a voter chooses to remain ignorant when the opportunity costs of gathering information outweigh the benefits,it is called:

Accepted Answer

A)   irrational voting.
B)   trigger mechanisms.
C)   rational ignorance.
D)   instinct theorem.E) None of the above
F) A) and D)

Question 16

Once voting preferences become more complicated than those assumed by the median-voter theorem:

Accepted Answer

A)   the way in which votes are cast becomes important.
B)   the policies preferred by the average voter become more important.
C)   the politicians stay more extreme in their views.
D)   economists cannot analyze voting preferences successfully.E) B) and D)
F) A) and B)

Question 17

The median-voter theorem would suggest the reason politicians go from extreme to moderate positions on an issue over the course of an election is because they are appealing to the:

Accepted Answer

A)   average voter in their party in the primary, and the average of all voters in the general election.
B)   majority of voters in their party in the primary, and the majority of all voters in the general election.
C)   median voter in their party in the primary, and the median of all voters in the general election.
D)   people in their party and opposing party.E) A) and D)
F) B) and D)

Question 18

If the liberum veto is used in a policy-making setting,it means:

Accepted Answer

A)   complete consensus is needed for legislation to pass.
B)   it is easy to halt policies, because only one person needs to be bribed to stop them.
C)   that government is an easy target for an area to become corrupt or taken advantage of.
D)   All of these are true.E) A) and B)
F) A) and D)

Question 19

Suppose everyone in a town votes that they prefer improved public transportation systems instead of public parks,then according to the criteria of ________________,that preference should not change even if a third option,like a public zoo,is included.

Accepted Answer

A)   Transitivity
B)   No dictator
C)   Unanimity
D)   Independence of irrelevant alternativesE) C) and D)
F) A) and D)

Question 20

The time and money it takes to organize a group or a campaign and to get the attention of lots of busy people is the:

Accepted Answer

A)   cost of collective action.
B)   reason why collective action does not happen in the real world.
C)   reason why all individuals never participate in any collective action.
D)   initial set-up costs of the campaign or group.E) None of the above
F) A) and D)

Exam 22: Political Choices

Arguably the simplest voting system is:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The time and money it takes to organize a group or a campaign and to get the attention of lots of busy people is the:

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The median-voter theorem can help explain one reason why politicians tend to change their position on a given issue over the course of an election from:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which economist defined the characteristics of an ideal voting system in his book Social Choice and Individual Values?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Suppose everyone in a town votes that they prefer improved public transportation systems instead of public parks,then according to the criteria of ________________,that preference should not change even if a third option,like a public zoo,is included.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Despite the fact that most votes have virtually no impact on the outcome of a vote,and knowing people incur opportunity costs to vote,we recognize that people vote for all of the following reasons except they:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Arrow's impossibility theorem tells us:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Many countries use a proportional-representation system,which means that:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Once voting preferences become more complicated than those assumed by the median-voter theorem:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

If a pair-wise majority vote was held and the voters' preferences are shown in the table,assuming transportation and the zoo was the first pair to be voted on,which option would win overall?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The consequence for society of the free-rider problem is:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

If the liberum veto is used in a policy-making setting,it means:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Political advocacy:

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Research has shown that voters are more likely to turn out in elections with ________ electorates and when the election is likely to be ____________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is not a criterion for an ideal voting system,according to economist Kenneth Arrow?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Pair-wise majority voting entails:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Commentators on the presidential election between Bush and Gore in 2000 believe that the presence of Nader,a third party candidate:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When a voter chooses to remain ignorant when the opportunity costs of gathering information outweigh the benefits,it is called:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

At its extreme,the use of the powers of government by public officials to achieve personal gains is:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The median-voter theorem would suggest the reason politicians go from extreme to moderate positions on an issue over the course of an election is because they are appealing to the:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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Research has shown that voters are more likely to turn out in elections with electorates and when the election is likely to be ____.

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